Quick Take: Where's the Fed Headed? Read the Minutes

Ben Bernanke and the Fed are still testing the mood of the economy, ValueBridge Advisors's Brian Barnier tells Joe Deaux.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- With the S&P 500 is approaching more all-time highs, bond yields also continue to creep higher. So what should we make of it?

Brian Barnier, principal analyst of ValueBridge Advisors, told TheStreet's Joe Deaux it can be tough for investors trying to decipher what to make of the Federal Reserve's intervention in the markets and when any tapering will begin. If the Fed acts, when will it be?

According to Barnier, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is testing the waters. He wants to know what the Fed can and can't do, and how the markets will react.

"It's all laid out for you, if you just read through the Fed minutes," Barnier said.

Barnier also pointed to the Fed's stance regarding the economy, saying the central bank is trying to keep performance tied to certain economic markers, such as unemployment.

But it's important to remember the marks set by the Fed to either start, stop or taper bond-buying programs is a threshold and not a trigger -- meaning the numbers aren't necessarily set in stone, he said. Instead, around the certain area of an economic marker, such as 6% unemployment, the Fed will consider making some adjustments.

Barnier also noted that the unemployment rate isn't exactly good and the duration of unemployment is "monstrous." However, he stressed that all of this can be found in the Fed minutes.

Bret Kenwell currently writes, blogs and also contributes to Robert Weinstein's Weekly Options Newsletter. Focuses on short-to-intermediate-term trading opportunities that can be exposed via options. He prefers to use debit trades on momentum setups and credit trades on support/resistance setups. He also focuses on building long-term wealth by searching for consistent, quality dividend paying companies and long-term growth companies. He considers himself the surfer, not the wave, in relation to the market and himself. He has no allegiance to either the bull side or the bear side.